


failure

by ucancallmechlo



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25991173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ucancallmechlo/pseuds/ucancallmechlo
Summary: Orla has always been a lonely girl. Her family never loved her, she was artistic while they wanted her to be academic and grow up being a surgeon or a lawyer like her siblings. With her best friend, they made an escape plan, a new life far from London. Atlanta was waiting for them.Thomas grew up with his uncle. His father was a drunk, not capable of taking care of a kid. His mom left as soon as she gave birth. He always felt unwanted, always felt like a bother. Shane constantly reminded him that he wasn't.Orla and Thomas were never supposed to meet. Both are completely different, they wouldn't have noticed one another.  Guess that didn't matter anymore.
Relationships: Original Character(s) / Original Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 1





	1. - calm before the storm

－ Orla was never scared of telling people off, she was a tough girl. Before everything went down, she used to be the one that would fight the bullies, that was how she met her best friend Christopher. He was bi, hence the bullying, something Orla could never understand. Both were living sad and terrible lives. Chris’s parents were very religious and problematic people, deeply racist and homophobic, they rejected their son like he was Satan himself. For Orla, things were a bit different. She was a genius, a literal one, she could remember something just by reading it, which made her the best of her classes, when she was not being expelled. That valued her the title of the little black sheep of the family.

Her family, she hated them. Her parents loved her until she started being herself, until she started talking back when they were wrong. Tories, conservatives called them whatever you wanted, they educated two perfect children and then came Orla. Her older siblings were twins, her brother Cian was in medical school in London while her sister, Susan was doing everything she could to become a lawyer. Even if she was a genius, she never dreamt of big degrees, she wanted to be able to express herself through art. She drew, painted, sculpted, those were her real talent. When she was younger, she skipped a grade, making her parents proud for the first and only time in her life. Growing up was a constant reminder of how she was the failure of the family, that she needed to be more like her siblings, more docile.  
Her father, Jules Saunders, was a famous architect around London. Having built is fame around his hard work, you would have thought that he would be humble about his achievements. Truth was, he wasn’t … at all. All he ever did was brag about his perfect life, perfect family (though he always excluded Orla). He had the wife, the house and the kids. His wife, Sandra Saunders was a beauty. She could compete with any movie stars any time. Where her husband had to work hard for his fortune, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Only daughter of a rich CEO, she had it all since she was a babe. They met during a « stupid Tories party » as Orla would call them, when they were 25 years old. Not seeing the point of working, she quickly became a housewife, cooking and cleaning. Orla hated that her mother never wanted to achieve anything on her own, all she cared about was money and appearances. She was tired of being restricted in this family, Orla dreamt of running away, being free from the social expectations that her parents imposed on her. 

Chris and Orla found this escape plan : Clark Atlanta University. Chris was given a scholarship to study in this university. He didn’t really cared that it was not a popular one, all the boy cared was that he was away from his families and with his best friends. They saved enough from working small jobs to be able to buy plane tickets and a small apartment in the city. The duo was excited to start this new life : Chris would go to college while Orla was starting a formation to be a tattoo artist. She used to practice in secret at home, either on herself or on Chris, in places their parents wouldn’t see. They moved over the summer their parents not relay caring, if anything, they were happy to get rid of the black sheep of both families.  
From then on, their lives were supposed to be perfect. Finally surrounded by the only people they loved, far from home. Nothing could touch them, Chris and Orla were high on happiness for the first time of their lives. 

☽☾

Thomas Walsh, unwanted. That was how he always felt. His mother left him and his father as soon as she was better after delivery. From this moment on, his father, John, became a drunk, lost his job and slowly starting abusing his son. At first, it was just verbal stating that it was his fault his mother left, that without him they would still be happy. Quickly, it became physical. Cigarettes burn marked his thighs, the only place his father would let scars, knowing no one could see them. To everyone, even to his uncle Shane, they were doing well … until one day. Shane decided to take his nephew for the hot summer day, promising to bring him to the pool with his best friend’s young son. That was when he saw, little scars on the boy’s legs.  
Tom never knew what happened this day. He stayed with Rick and the young Carl at the pool while his uncle was gone for a good hour. He had fun with Carl even though he was 3 years old and Tom was 12. Rick carried them and threw them into the water, it was something he never did, going to the pool, having fun; after all he barely left the house. To this day, it was still one of his favourite memories. When his uncle came back, he was carrying a bag full of his belonging, Thomas noticed that his knuckles were bruised to, but he never said anything. His father had made him a quiet, observing boy too afraid to raise his voice. This day changed his life.  
His new life was really perfect, Thomas started being really himself. Just like his uncle he had a short temper, he didn’t pick up fights knowing better with his uncle in the police, but he knew how to annoy people with only his words. When Shane was on duty during the evening, he would go over to the Grimes, staying the night with Lori and Carl. Carl, the boy has been just like his little brother, however he found Lori to be a bit annoying. Nothing he would voice to either Rick or Shane but he didn’t really like the woman.  
High school was something he was never really interested in, not paying much attention in class, not having any friend. He didn’t mind being alone, he never did. Sometimes, he would miss the bus stop next to Shane’s house just to see his old house. He always wanted to ask what happened this day, what Shane did to his own brother, but he never did. Each time Thomas would walk by his old house, his thighs would start burning, reminded him what happened in there. What really bothered him was that this had been forced upon his uncle, he never chose to have a kid, to take care of someone that wasn’t even his own blood. Soon, Thomas became insecure, thinking that Shane would have been better off without him, without a lanky kid to take care of. He also hated the way he looked, skin on his bones. Living with Shane changed that pretty quickly though, he was fed properly and gained weight easily. 

Soon he chose to find a job, so he could buy things on his own, without his uncle money. Working at garage made him stronger, more manual and definitely more dirty every time he would come home from work. The job also taught him to be independent, and a great deal about cars. Thomas never thought he would be grateful of the things he learnt there, but a couple months later he would embrace his knowledge of cars and mechanic. College was out of the way because of his finances, the boy started a formation to become a cop. Helping other was something he always loved, helping kids like him was his priority. 

Sadly for Orla, Christopher and Thomas, the world had other plans.


	2. - beginning of the end

－ THE ONLY THING ORLA MISSED FROM ENGLAND WAS THE COLD, other than that Atlanta had been treating her right. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel the need to cry herself to sleep most of the night. Orla was free from the toxic claws of her family. Slowly but surely, she was starting to make a name for herself as a tattoo artist in her neighborhood, sure it wasn't the entire city but it was still a good beginning. She spent her free time drawing things she would like to tattoo, showing them in her little shop in case people were interesting. When no one came around, she read books about art history, eager to know all the little secrets no one talked about. She also was preparing for their big trip to New-York in a couple of weeks, finally she would set foot in the MoMA.

Chris was impatient to start his classes, finally he could be himself without being judged or forced to act like someone else just to please his parents. He was starting a degree in history, precisely modern history. He always felt passionate about the world wars and the cold one, feeling like there was so much more to learn, college seemed like the best solution to learn. Teaching was his dream job, sharing his passions was something he liked. Useless, when both couldn't sleep, Chris would teach what he knew to Orla, and her being the genius she was, she remembered it all.

He took a small job at the small coffee next to the Atlanta Police Department. Most of the time, when he was bored, he would just watch the police officers come out to smoke or to drink their coffee, some would even order where he worked. He loved working there because they had AC, which the duo hadn't in their apartment. Summers here were definitely hotter than in London, but if it meant being away from his family, he didn't mind. He had read in the news that one of the officers from next door was shot about two weeks ago, he was in the coma. He hoped the cop would not die, that would be unfortunate. He had seen his face on the new and he remembered him from his long afternoon of watching the Police's Department. Rick Grimes, that was his name.

Orla was at home when it all started. First the power went off, thinking it was just local she didn't really payed mind to it. Until she heard car honks and people screaming, when she looked through the window, she could see that the traffic lights were off too, as well as the lights from various shops. Atlanta didn't have power anymore. Putting shoes on, she went down in the street to see what was happening. The girl heard whispers about a new terrorist attacks, about a military training and some even talked about cannibalism. Starting to grow anxious, she went back inside sitting by the window to see if they was any evolution. She was so focused on the street, she was startled by the sound of the front door opening.

« They send me home, the Coffee doesn't have any power. Just like the rest of the city, it seems. » Chris said lightly, for him it was just an accident. Looking at his friend, he could see the look on her face : she was scared and anxious. « Orla, are you okay ? »

« I don't know. I went on the street and heard people talking nonsense... they talked about another 9/11, some were panicking because they saw cannibalism on the streets. I don't know what is going on, but I don't like it. » She explained quickly, a habit she had taken when she was young. When she was scared, intimidated or even stressed, the girl would talk quickly and most of the time she would ramble.

Chris approached his friends, putting his hands on her shoulders as a comforting gesture.

« Everything is okay, people like to exaggerate. I'm sure the power will be back before you know it. Tomorrow, everything would be back in order, and you'll tattoo the girl with the stretch marks on her thighs. Just breath, okay, because you are too heavy for me to carry. » He liked to turn everything into a joke, because he knew it would calm her down. Talking about tattoos helped too, her passion was her rock. He was happy he remembered the burnt man, because otherwise he would have made things worse.

As they settled on the couch, Chris was trying to take Orla's mind off the events going on. Gunshots were heard outside, followed by civilians' screams and more gunshots. The duo looked at each other, horror was clear in their eyes. They knew. Nothing would ever be normal again. They went to the window to see the police in the street shooting at what looked to be civilians but it wasn't. Chris saw one being shot in the heart and fall to the ground, thinking the woman was dead, he turned his head to the cops that shot only to see the woman standing up running towards the officer. What she did next was unexpected, she started biting his shoulders and once the man was on the floor, the woman stared eating the flesh of his shoulders, nails digging into his abdomen. Orla first reflex was to run to the front door to lock it, in case any of those things were to enter the apartment.

« What are we supposed to do ? We cannot stay here, we cannot go out. Should we wait for the army to come ? » Orla rushed out, she was freaking out. Both were panicking now, the street was still echoing with gunshots and various screams. « Are they even coming ? If those things enter the building, we are going to die. »

Chris was still looking at the cops that was on the floor, half of his shoulder eaten and his stomach was on the floor. There was no way the man was still alive, but then, he opened his eyes. Chris jumped away from the windows, this was something out of horror movies, it couldn't be happening. The boy thought he hallucinated, walking back to the window the dead officer was not walking, with his stomach hanging out of his body.

« They are coming back to life ... » Chris whispered, so quietly he was sure Orla didn't hear him. More firmly, he repeated. « They are coming back to life. Just like in the movies, if you are bitten, you will come back to life. We have to get out of the city, now Orla. » He rushed to their bedrooms, trying to pack the essentials.

Not knowing what to do, Orla followed him. How would they get out of the city ? They didn't have a car, they didn't have friends or people they slightly trusted outside of each other. Orla knew, from now on, you couldn't trust the first person you met on the street. She watched as Chris was packing two bags, one with her belonging and another with his.

« Chris ... Stop. Stop ! » It was pointless, they needed to decide how they would leave before they rushed outside. Rushing was only going to get them killed. « We need to talk about how to get out before we do it, we cannot just take our chances out. We will die. » What the girl said seemed to reason the boy, for he stopped packing.

They decided they would wait until the following day, to see how things evolved. Most of their neighbors were gone in a hurry, Chris raided of the apartments for food, water and maybe weapons. He was lucky to find a forgotten gun and some hunting knives in their creepy old next door neighbor. He heard his son rushing him out of the flat, but the old man kept screaming about his weapons. Chris knew he would find gold there. After making sure everyone was gone, he told Orla to start raiding caned food, water bottle, clothes, medical supplies everything that could help them. Orla was lucky to find some medical book, basics mostly like how to suture or how to stop a bleeding but she packed it either way. After having done all the flats, they organized what they find from the most important to the least. What came first was food and water, quickly followed by medical supplies. Now they needed to find a car, a working one because a lot of people had an accident on the street after the first strike.

Chris was certain that the old creepy man left his car keys in his apartment, because he could still see his car parked in the same spot it always was. He raided it and didn't find any keys so he decided to go back, looking everywhere. Orla was with him, they turned the apartment upside down for those keys. Finally, they found it, right under their noses from the beginning. All his keys were attached together, still on the front door where the old man left them. So now they had a car, supplies, weapons, but they haven't figured out where they would go.

It was late, but none could sleep so they stayed up. Trying to relax, they were waiting for the dawn when they would be going out. Their bags were packed, they were ready, but they wouldn't risk it at night. Orla had the gun in her hand, suddenly, she shot just next to where Chris was sitting. Scared, both of them got on their feet. Chris was looking at Orla with horror in his eyes and you could see the guilt in Orla's eyes.

« Orla ! For fuck's sake. Give me that ! » He took the gun like a parent would take a knife out of a small child's hand.

« Oh my .. Jesus ! Chris I'm so sorry ! But I mean, I have never shot a gun before Chris .. What did you expect ? Why did you give it to me ? » She tried to defend herself by blaming him. From now on, she would let the gun to Chris and stick to the hunting knife.

☽☾

－ ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY, Thomas and Shane were on their way to leave Atlanta. They went to the Grimes' to take them out also. Shane wouldn't let anything happen to them or to Thomas.

Earlier this month, just after Rick was shot, Shane started hearing those strange cases of cannibalism around the city. First, they thought about another serial killer, how could they have imagined anything else ? The station was looking everywhere for this psychopath, it was the most important case. A few civilians knew about it, but it didn't reach the media so they had time before everything start exaggerating. Shane was lonely, being without a partner was something he wasn't used to. Rick was more than his partner, friend since high school, he was a brother. With Thomas in the police academy, they didn't really have time to talk. When the boy was home at night, he was exhausted. Shane remembered his time in the academy, really funny years. Sadly, his nephew was a lonely kid, he didn't go out for a drink after training, he didn't wake up earlier to eat breakfast with his colleagues. Shane was not bothered by it, if the boy was happy then so was he.

Thomas heard about this cannibal running around the city, he was sure the station would arrest them. A couple of weeks after Rick's accident, the city was a mess, the police was in the street, shooting at civilians. Thomas was home, pacing, he knew his uncle was out, but the academy sent the student home. Atlanta requested the help of all graduated officers, even if they weren't on duty. The young boy could hear the distant gunshot, not even knowing what they were facing. Nobody had ever seen something like this, just outside the academy, as he was rushed out, he saw one. Undead, he was eating what seemed to be a dog. Tom didn't wait around to see what the thing would do next.

Shane rushed inside, locking the door back in place. He passed his hand on his hair, a habit he had when he was nervous. Thomas was looking at him, waiting for his instructions. Shane wasn't sure what they were supposed to do. The army would be arriving tomorrow, maybe they would help the police but they could also let them in their own shit. Recreated Hiroshima was another option. They needed to leave, immediately, pick Rick up and then Lori and Carl.

« Pack your things, only essentials. Carry light, medical supplies, take your gun and your throwing knives. We are going to the hospital and as soon as we got Rick, we get Lori and Carl. We are leaving this fucking city before the army is in the street. The fuckers will probably bomb us. » Shane explained in a hurry, almost running to the second floor where both their rooms were.

Thomas followed quickly behind, if his uncle said the city was bad then it was. Rick was now their priority. When he packed, noticing Shane wasn't done, he had an idea. He was certain his uncle would want to take his car. The boy rushed to the garage where both their cars were, he has taken a gas can that had been here since forever and staring sucking the petrol out of his car, just in case Shane's didn't have enough. Putting his bag and the can in the trunk, he then went to the kitchen to pack most of the canned food they had as well as all the water bottle he could see.

When they were ready to leave, the house looked like it had been broken into. On their way to the hospital, they saw more of those things, they were feasting on the dead civilians and officers. Once there, Shane saw the military trucks, what were they doing here ? They were supposed to arrive this evening, even during the night. Shit, they had to go in quickly and discreetly. Thomas was positive this was the best thing to do, Rick needed to be out of there or the undead would get to him. Once inside, Tom couldn't believe what he saw, the army was shooting the medical staff, that was wrong... so wrong. You didn't kill the living, from what he saw during the way to the hospital, only the dead were a threat. The two made it to Rick's room without being noticed by the army. If they had been, Shane didn't know what they would do, maybe nothing giving the fact that Shane still wore his work outfit.

Here he was, Rick was still lying on the bed, unconscious. How were they supposed to take him out of here. It was too dangerous to even think about doing it, but they needed Rick... for Lori, for Carl. The poor boy already thought he wouldn't see his father again.

« How do we get him out Shane ? Do you know anything about those machines ? » Thomas looked at his uncle who seemed to be deep in thought. He knew this look, every time his uncle had this look, Tom didn't like the outcome. Waiting for the answers, they could hear the echos of gunshots coming from the hallway, getting closer.

« There is nothing we can do Thomas. If we stay, they are going to kill us ! I don't know anything about those fucking machines, we wouldn't know what to do. He'll die on the way to Lori and Carl. » Shane was not happy with the outcome, but he was down to earth enough to know that it was a lost cause. If his friend would have been awake, they could have done something, but now... it was hopeless. Shane had to protect those that could survive, those that were still alive. Rick was dead, even if he wasn't now, he would be soon. « Come on, we gotta go. »

« Uncle, we can't just leave him here ! The army will shoot him, they are killing anyone that is still breathing. Can't we hide him ? Lock the door, I don't know anything that could save his life in the future ? » Thomas was getting restless, he needed to find a solution. His brain worked that way, he always had the need to find solutions to problems or else he would get frustrated. Right now, he was scared and frustrated.

Shane could see the wheels turning in his nephew's head, so he did the only he knew would make him move. He took his arm, rushed him to the door just like a child that just learnt how to walk. Taking his hands next, he dragged the boy down the corridors just before turning back. Even if it was the best thing to do, it was a hard choice. Leaving his best friend to a certain death wasn't something Shane liked doing, so he turned back to block the way. That was the least he could do. Blocking the way with the only thing he saw, Shane took a hospital bed, putting in just before Rick's door, preventing anything dead to enter the room.

As the duo made its way out of the hospital, Thomas could feel tears running down his face. Rick was like a second uncle, he wished there was something he could do to save him. He swore that he would take care of Carl, the boy lost his dad, but he wasn't going to lose his life too.

☽☾

－AS THOMAS WAS STUCK ON THE HIGHWAY WITH CARL, A GIRL AND A NICE LADY; Orla and Chris were waiting for the morning, still looking out on the streets to see if there was any improvement. Just as they started to have hope that things calmed down, the first bomb was dropped from the army on the city of Atlanta.

Thomas held Carl close as they both watched, with horror, the monstrosity the army was doing. Tom knew that civilians were still in the city, desperate for help, for a refugee center. The boy was crying, thinking of all his friends he would never see again. Thomas was crying too, the tears were pure empathy for the family that didn't get out in time, that got stuck in the city. Now, it was reduced to fire, terror and blood. If anyone managed to survive the bombing, he hoped they would be out of the city in no time.

Chris pushed Orla as far away from the window as he could. He didn't know how the window would react, maybe it would stay in place, maybe it would shatter. They took refuge by the front door, directly in front of the window. They could hear the screams, the helicopters, the bombs falling. As they held each other, one prayed they would make it, while the other was wishing for a quick and painless death. After what felt like hours, the bombing stopped. Both didn't stop sobbing, too shocked to do anything else. They were petrified, being this close to death was not something they had enjoyed, they never wished to experience it again. Waiting for the morning, they stayed put, never leaving the other embrace.

« Eventually, everything would go back to normal. » They all had thought that today. How wrong were they. Nothing would ever be the same again. The three of them would have to learn how to survive in a world where the dead weren't the only enemy.

If they wanted to live, if they wanted to survive, they were going to have to fight for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the second part of the introduction to failure. The following will directly be moved forwards to season 2. Hope you enjoyed this :) 
> 
> Lots of Love.


	3. just one yesterday

－ ATLANTA HAD BEEN OVERRUN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE OUTBREAK, those who got stuck were mostly dead and the survivors still in Atlanta wished they were. People started to reunite in little camps outside the city to be away from the undeads. Survival of the fittest, many didn't make it.

It's has been months since the bombing of Atlanta, Chris and Orla had left the city pretty quickly, they were a part of the lucky ones. Their car had broken, the food was running low as well as the water. The gun was rigorously tucked in Chris's backpack, useless as the duo ran low on ammo a while ago. They have raided a hunting shop on the side roads of Georgia, or more what was left of it. Knives, bows and arrows, some fishing kit too, but nothing that could help them kill a walkers from afar. They didn't know how to use the bows, being always on the road didn't let them much time to practice. They had heard that a camp was set on the hills, just outside Atlanta, but when they made it, it was empty. Their goal was to never stop until they find a secure place to stay, or a safe group of people. Both were certain there were still good people left, they just needed to find them. Being outside on their own was getting harder as more people were getting infected, it was making their need for a safe place their priority. The only time they had come across living people, Orla forced Chris to hide, not knowing how hostile they were. The group was filling can of petrol, while talking about how they needed to be careful. As Orla was about to let Chris go talk to them, what seemed to be the leader joked about the woman they raped and killed in the forest and about how she was better this way than all alone in the woods. Since then, they liked to stay away from people as much as possible.

The duo had been walking for a week now, their car lost somewhere along the road of Georgia. It's been so long since they'd left the comfort and safety of driving, they were constantly scared and stressed. Nature was the mother of many animals, noises were constant making everyone that wasn't used to it on edge. Since the outbreak, the world had been so quiet, hearing a single noise in the forest had become uncommon.

Before all this happened, the best friends would have laughed at the thought of going into the woods or even sleeping there. It was something that was simply not made for them. Now, they didn't really had a choice, they were forced to adapt. Orla was tired of walking, it was almost dusk and they still hadn't found a safe place to stay, when the sun disappeared the world totally changed. With the light gone, it was more difficult to see the walkers, you became more and more paranoid : every single noise were possible threats. It was surreal how easy you get used to the noise and suddenly when it was all gone, you had to adjust to the silence.

« The best thing to do is to sleep here, the clearing is big enough for us to see walkers coming. We just camp directly in the middle, I keep watch first and then I'll wake you. » Chris suggested, knowing it was the best thing to do, they wouldn't find anything today.

« I guess you are right. The thing now is to start a fire, which none of us know how to. Damn, we are really lame at surviving, I give us 2 months maximum on our own. » The girl had given up all the hopes of surviving on their own. They couldn't hunt, they couldn't fish, they couldn't raid a place without being scared of finding other humans. They were doomed to die anyway. « We are running out of food, we cannot find shit, so if the undead don't kill us ... we will fucking starve. How ironic will that be ? Starving while it's literally the end of the world, perfect. Dying as losers. » Orla was rambling again, something she did pretty often nowadays. Chris was used to it by now, he didn't even listen to her when it happened.

« Okay Orla, can you calm down a little ? It's not that tricky starting a fire. I'm sure we can do it. » The boy said, quite confident.

Hours later, the sun was gone, replaced by the moon. The duo was stuck in the dark, because it was, indeed, hard to start a fire. They had a fight minutes ago, Orla said Chris was an idiot for thinking they could start a fire that easily, which made the young man angry. Even mad, they would stay close to each other, they might be idiots but they were not reckless idiots.

As Chris had said hours ago, he took the first watch, he would basically walk in circle around Orla just to be sure he looked everywhere. The only weapons left was knives, not really helping if a human was to barge into the clearing threatening them but it was all the duo had. As he was alone with his thoughts, Chris imagined scenarios where people would come where they were and how it would go. He laughed at himself, he was sure with how dark it was, people would just think they were walkers. After all, he was walking in circles. Waking Orla up was a disaster, but the young woman understood, she had to get up to let Chris sleep. As if they were kids, both didn't talk while they switch position. As quick as a light, Christopher was asleep. Orla went back to her old habits. Whenever they would fight, she would always mumble because she liked to be right.

« Stupid arsehole thinking it was easy to start a fire. Now look at us, it's getting colder as we approach the winter and we cannot even make a goddamn fire. How are we supposed to survive the winter ? Oh my God, we are so dead in a couple of weeks. We are way to young to die. » Kicking the little rocks, she was in her own little world.

As she spoke to herself, shadows emerged from the trees. The girl was to absorb in her conversation with herself that she didn't see. Walkers, two were slowly making their way to the duo. Oddly, they were not making any sounds, what startled Orla was when one got stuck and fell to the floor. The sound was so uncommon, it awoke Chris. Orla quickly made her way to the moving one, planting her knife directly in his head, it was easy considering it didn't have any arms. The other one was trying to crawl his way to Chris, but this one, oddly didn't have any arms too. Sticking her knife in his skull, the British girl noticed both were missing their jaw. Chris noticed too, and they both looked at each other knowing something wasn't right.

« We should be moving, the sun is getting higher. » Orla was the first to speak. She was right. Even thought the sun was just starting to rise, those two walkers made them uneasy. Little did they know, eyes were watching their every move, well hidden into the woods.

Orla and Chris missed the comfort of their apartment. True, it wasn't the best one in Atlanta, but it was shelter and safety. What both thought about at this very moment was : « Maybe it's not that bad in England. What would have happened if we'd stayed ? »

☽☾

－ LIVING AT THE FARM WAS A DREAM COMING TRUE, for once, they didn't really had to worry about getting food, or shelter. Thomas was on edge constantly, mostly for two reasons : the little girl, Sophia was missing and his uncle had gone berserk since he came back without Otis. They all needed a moment to rest, all they've been through already, it was exhausting. They had lost so many : Amy, Morales, Merle, Jim, Jacky. Even though Daryl went out everyday to find the girl, Tom was sure the girl was already dead. He didn't say anything, actually, he distracted Carol a lot. He would talk to her about the only nice memories he had about his childhood, most included Rick, Shane and Carl.

What everyone didn't expect was for Thomas and Daryl to get closer. Both didn't speak much, they mostly observed, it was a surprise to everyone but the both of them. They respected each other privacy, sometime they would sit hours next to each other, making new arrows without saying a single word. They were so similar, they understood each other without the need to communicate. At camp, things were starting to get complicated, Shane was always angry at Rick for being « too nice », always saying to Andrea that he would be a better leader. Thomas also heard them talk about leaving, which made him angry. How could Shane even think about leaving ? If he did, would he leave Thomas behind ?

Another thing the young man was good at doing was reading body languages. He would see how Lori tensed around Shane, the looks she would send him, which was the contrary to the looks Shane sent Lori. Even the dumbest person would know that something happened when Rick was « dead », damn, even Rick knew. He also noticed the glares between Maggie and Glenn, which, if you asked him, was disgusting. How could anyone think they were safe enough to have a love story with a person they were going to have to leave behind eventually. Thomas was not a blind man, Maggie was a beautiful woman, he just thought there were more important things to focus on during the end of the world. Furthermore, Beth watched him constantly, even though she was apparently with Jimmy. He felt flattered, really, but he knew it was just a stupid teenage crush.

« What are you thinking about ? » Carl's little voice interrupted his thoughts at breakfast. The little boy felt something was different at camp, his parents were falling apart, so was Shane. However, he didn't understand why.

« Things. » Was all he said. He didn't want to be mean to the kid, but today, he wanted to be left alone. Maybe he'd go with Daryl in the woods. Out there, they were always silent, listening for any noises from the little girl or eatable animals.

Just when everyone was about to venture to their occupations, Glenn came pretty quickly making everyone stay. He had something important to say. If it was about Maggie, Tom would leave. Unexpectedly, Glenn told them about the walkers in the barn. His first reflex was to look at his uncle, which was not a good one given the fact that as soon as the news was out, Shane ran to the barn bearing all his guns, so everyone followed.

Like the boy predicted, Shane and Rick started arguing over what to do with the barn. Everyone had thoughts and arguments of their owns but none made sense.

« Why should we do anything about it ? » Thomas broke the argument, talking to the group. They all stared at him, shocked that he spoke up. « We are not going to settle here, Hershel made that very clear. When we find Sofia, we are back on the road. This is not our fight, this barn is not ours. If those walkers in there could get out, we all would be dead by now, so why do anything about it ? » If looks could kill, Shane's glare would have turned Thomas into a walker. With that, the young man walked back to camp, he was tired of the constant fighting in the group.

« Those things are dangerous you know ? » Andrea stated, which sounding more like a fact than a question. « They could kill you, Shane and everyone here. » How she'd gotten here without being heard ? If you asked him for the person he disliked the most in the group, Andrea would be the first name he'd say.

« I know, doesn't mean those are dangerous. They're locked in the barn, opening it would mean being chased away from this place, making the search for Sofia even more difficult. » That was the most he talked to the woman in a long time. He used to like Amy, so he would spend some evenings with her and Andrea.

« Killing them is what ensures our safety. The little girl is probably dead already, being on the road would just mean finding a new place to live, which can be difficult but we would make it. If that means killing more of these fuckers. » She was starting to piss him off.

« Listen, I ain't got anything to tell you. You ain't even my friend, I don't like you so get off my back and go bother someone that will listen to your bullshit. Why don't you go talk to Carol about your opinion about her missing daughter ? » Anger made his southern accent thicker, a bit like Daryl's one. Normally, he would make some effort because his accent would make him look like a redneck, but right now, he was fuming. « Fuck my uncle all you want but don't act like you are my family, 'cause you ain't. » That being said, Thomas left her, heading to Daryl's tent where he sat by the tree making more arrows for the hunter.

Thomas thought about the fact that Rick was becoming a father figure to him, more than his uncle ever was. Maybe it was because he was already a father, or because, deep down, Shane was not a really good person. Thomas knew something was off with the death of Otis, Shane was different from there. Being afraid of the answers, Tom never dared ask his uncle about what really happened this day. He knew Shane would never hurt him, or Carl or even Lori but, as the time passed, he wasn't so sure about Rick now. The two best friends were slowly taking a dark road, Shane being overcome with jealousy most of the time.

Just as he was lost in thought, something he was doing more and more now that they had this feeling of safety on the farm, agitation was coming from the porch and people started running to the barn. Thomas felt like he wasn't needed there, another fight between Rick and Shane was not his business so he continued with his task of making arrows. He was getting lost in his mind again just to be disturbed by the sound of shooting. That put him on his feet immediately, and he ran off to the barn just to see Hershel and Rick with dead walkers at the end of a stick. Hershel seemed shocked, like he lost someone he knew. Just as Thomas was going to ask what was going on, Shane broke the chains that kept the barn closed. One look at Daryl was enough for the young man to get his knife out, waiting for the unknown. One by one, walkers started getting out and the group started shooting them. Not wanting to be a part of this, Tom walked closer to Carol who was standing a bit away from the group. The boy was afraid of who was to come out of the barn. Just like everyone dreaded, a little girl made her way out : Sofia. Everything happened so quickly, Carol started running to which Thomas followed trying to stop her. Daryl managed to catch her, trying to comfort her the best he could. Both hadn't received much love in their lifetime, so comforting others was something they were not used to. A final shot and then, everything went quiet.

At this particular moment, Thomas found himself wishing he could go back in time. To before this mess, he would even endure whatever his father would have done to him if it meant living a life where you didn't have to worry about having a tomorrow.

☽☾

－THE SUN WAS SETTING IN GEORGIA. Before, the young ones would start getting ready to go out with their friends, to go on dates. The older ones would be at home, watching TV, complaining about the hot weather of the state or about how loud the city was. Night time was a breeze of fresh air, the promise of a better tomorrow.

This particular night, the young were not out dancing and the elders were not in, whining. No, those that were alive wish for a little moment of before, a little hope. Most were willing to trade all their tomorrows for just one yesterday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my .. I'm so excited about this story you have no ideas ! Maybe you have noticed the little thing I did with the FOB's song ;) I didn't start at the beginning of season 2 because I felt better starting right in the middle of dramas ! Hope you liked it, until next time
> 
> Don't be shy, let kudos and comment ;)
> 
> Lots of Love.

**Author's Note:**

> hello world, this is a new story I've been working on. It's an OC x OC walking dead story. More will be coming soon, if you want you can find it on Wattpad where you can find the face claims. (ucancallmechlo - failure)
> 
> This is a prologue of a sort, hence why it's this short. Next chapters will be longer I promise. Feedback is always appreciated :)
> 
> Lots of Love, Chloé


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